June 18, 2015June 7, 2018 Peter Witkowski Vacation Bible School

5 Reasons Why VBS Is A Big Deal

i-love-vbs

Ah…Vacation Bible School, there is nothing like it. Screaming kids, water games, snacks with gummy worms hidden in them. What kid wouldn’t be up for a week of summer fun? (I was always ready for some gummies and water balloons!) Hopefully, we adults are also getting bit with the VBS excitement bug! Sure we have to manage all those sugar filled, crazy kids. But hosting a great VBS is worth the cost! Here are my top five reason VBS is a big deal!

1. VBS Connects Us To Our Community!

Yes, some kids spend their entire summer hoping from one VBS to the next. When they drop into our VBS, we should be thankful! Each time we connect with a new family, we develop a better picture of what our community is really like. VBS will help us to better understand how to ministry to our neighborhoods.

2. VBS Demonstrates The Love Of Christ!

Bible believing Christianity is increasingly unpopular in our culture. If we affirm biblical marriage and label sin as sin, we w kids free 1 ill be unpopular and perhaps even labeled as bigots.

One of the best means for fighting against the angry Christian stereotype is to love our neighbors. VBS gives us the chance us to do just that! As we serve our neighbors’ and co-workers’ kids, we can dispel many of the myths that surround our church. Remember the words of Paul: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).

VBS provides our church a premium stage for wowing the world with the love of Christ! Remember the words of our savior, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Let’s highlight God’s love this summer by loving kids via VBS!

3. VBS Fulfills The Great Commission!

Evangelism is not just something missionaries do. Nor is it something we do “out there.” Jesus said all of us are to be making disciples (Math 28:18-20)! We need to be sharing the gospel in Asia. But, we also must talk about the good news of Jesus in our towns, homes, and ballparks! VBS gives us an amazing venue for reaching and discipling the kids in our community! By participating in VBS, we get to experience the joy of obeying Jesus’ mission call!

4. VBS Connects Us To The Unchurched!

Many kids only come to church during VBS. By breaking out the wacky games, we can reach the usually unreachable. VBS expands the reach of the gospel into our community introducing Christ to kids who have never sat in a pew before.

5. VBS Can Lead To Redemption!

This is the big one. We have VBS every year because God saves. We welcome kids to church this summer because God uses VBS leaders to open the eyes of the blind. And I’m not talking about just the back kids. I’ve heard many reports of “good” church kids getting saved during VBS. Anytime the gospel is present, the Holy Spirit can move in powerful ways! He often works through VBS. Let’s hope and pray that God uses our VBS to bring many to salvation!

And now it’s your turn! Why is VBS a big deal to you and your church family?

Click Here To Register For VBS @ Amissville Baptist Church!

June 11, 2015June 15, 2015 Peter Witkowski Vacation Bible School

VBS 2015: Everything You Need to Know

In a few weeks, we will be journeying off the map with Lifeway’s VBS! I am super excited about this year’s VBS! The lime green shirts will be looking cool, the music will be rock’n, and our kids are going to be making some awesome memories! And honestly, the only thing better than the activities will be the teaching! Each day as our kids’ journey off the map, they will encounter the gospel. As they study Daniel and a bunch of other stories, our kids will see that God doesn’t want them just be good citizens. They will leave knowing that they need to repent and embrace Christ as their God. I can’t wait see how God will use us via His Word to save the lost!

As you continue to get pumped for VBS and start registering your kids at fbceastman.com, I want to keep you up-to-date on all of the latest changes:

What’s New

We switched back to Lifeway. Although I still think, Answers in Genesis produces a great VBS curriculum, I believe Lifeway is now even better. For more on the benefits of using Journey off the Map see Above.
We will be starting 30 minutes later this year! VBS will begin at 6:30 PM.
We are replacing meals with snacks to maximize our teaching time.
Preschoolers will not go to the worship rally. To minimize chaos and to create a great welcoming space, all kids Age 4 and under will be dropped off and picked up in their CMC classrooms.
All preregistered kindergarteners -8th graders can be dropped off in the sanctuary. All unregistered students will register at the tables around the fellowship hall. All kids will be picked up from their CMC classrooms (Tangled Branch Tree Houses).
Parents must have their parent card (You’ll get your card when you drop off your child) to pick up a child. If you lose your parent card, go to the CMC welcome desk! I hope you and your family plan to journey off the map with us!
To serve in VBS, you must be at least 16 years of age and been a church member for 6 month. If you want an official invitation to serve, this is it! We want you own our VBS team! We will have a leadership meeting on Sunday June 14 at 4:30 PM! See you there!
We will end our Friday Night VBS Celebration with a meal! Immediately following the closing ceremony all kids and their parents are invited to eat dinner in the FBCE fellowship hall!

I truly believe VBS 2015 is going to be amazing!

Pray

Please join in praying for our VBS leaders and our students. Pray for God to give life to the spiritual dead. Pray for safety. And pray that no one and nothing will hinder the proclamation of the gospel! It’s time to get excited about VBS 2015! It’s time to see God work!

How about you? Are you excited about VBS? What’s your best VBS memory as either a kid or a teacher?

May 21, 2014July 8, 2014 Peter Witkowski Children's Ministry, Discipleship, Vacation Bible School

The Summertime Gospel

V…B…S…V…B…S…V…B…S

Hundreds of kids running around downing Jell-O incased gold fish is just one of the many things that make Vacation Bible School one of the craziest but most exciting events on the church calendar. As the week of crafts, games, and singing unfolds, Christian parents and youth have the chance to pour the gospel directly into the heart of kids. But as with all good church programs, Christians must actively work to keep VBS focused on preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

The Purpose Of VBS

Several VBS publishers have begun to tailor their programs to church kids. These curriculums emphasize God’s love, obeying parents, or caring for schoolmates. They want kids to bounce out of the closing ceremony with a better understanding of how to be good Christian.

Though well intended, the move to make VBS into a summer camp-style-refresher course on the merits of moral living is not the best use of church resources. The people of God are called to be evangelistic. We are to follow Christ and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15). Our goal should not be to turn outreach programs into members’ only ministries. Not too long ago, the evangelical church redid Sunday school, changing it from a program designed to reach poor, inner-city kids into a muffin filled fellowship time for adults. Now I don’t think adult fellowship times are evil. But we must be careful not to become so focused on meeting our own needs that we close our eyes those outside our walls. One program that traditionally has had an outside focus is VBS. Let’s keep it focused on the Great Commission by inviting the community to attend.

Though reaching the community is hugely important, an effective VBS also needs a message that connects to those outside the church. If we call unsaved kids to be good without offering them the power of the gospel, we will confuse them in one of two ways. Either they will leave depressed because they cannot be meet the impossible standards of Jesus or they’ll leave a VBS t-shirt wearing Pharisee, who is convinced they can conquer sin through sheer will power. Let’s not leave kids hopeless or help them cover up their sin nature with some spiritual self-esteem. Let’s faithfully proclaim the gospel, trusting that God will work mightily!

Now when it comes to preaching the gospel this summer, we do not need to restrict it to an emotional display that climaxes with a pastor passionately asking kids to accept Jesus because “He will make everything better!” After all, who wouldn’t sign up for their best life now by repeating the short phrases of a sinners’ prayer?

A better option is to make all of VBS be about the gospel. We should choose curriculums or create programs that help the kids singing in our pews to understand the depths of their sin. Then, we direct these energetic souls to Christ who has paid for their sin. We offer them the hope of eternal life while reminding them that to gain true life they must abandon their self-centeredness. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

What About The Church Kids?

Now some might be concerned that a VBS focused on the gospel might fail to connect with the church kids. First, we need to remember that our good church kids might not be saved. They could be all about the nice things in life because they hope their mission’s offerings and Sunday school attendance will get them into heaven. Second, we need to remember that our goal is not to help kids pretend that they don’t need a savior. Even saved children still need to be reminded of the cross and of their need to depend on Christ alone as the live they Christian life. “The cure for kids who feel burdened by sin is not to ignore the topic (they feel the burden anyway, even if that aren’t talking about it), but to administer large doses of the good news so that their faith Jesus grows” (Klumpenhower, p. 39). The gospel is relevant for every kid regardless of how many times they went to Sunday school.

This summer, let’s make the VBS all about the gospel!